This thread is about Russia and any events, political or otherwise, that are or might be worth discussing.
Any news, links or posts pertaining to the situation involving Russia, Crimea and Ukraine must be put in the 'Crisis in Ukraine' thread.
Group of deputies wants Gorbachev investigated over Soviet break-up.
Above in the Guardian version.
Putin's war against Russia's last independent TV channel.
No discussion regarding nuclear war. As nuclear weapons are not being used by either side, nuclear war is off-topic.
Edited by MacronNotes on Feb 27th 2022 at 11:26:10 AM
The entire thing is weird, though. I mean I've read about the Belarusian situation is actually the complete opposite, though, where Belarusian is the one that wanted to merge with Russia, but Russia prefer Belarusian to be a separate entity because Belarusian is more useful as a third party or a go-between, so Russia can make a deal with entities that it can't due to the sanction. So, has the situation changed or is the article that I read back then is wrong? I can't remember where I read it, though, before anyone ask. It's been a long time.
I'm not as witty as I think I am. It's a scientifically-proven fact.
U.S. sanctions delay Russian passenger jet by a year: Rostec CEO
Russia hopes the MS-21, a twin-engine, medium-range passenger plane, will give Boeing and Airbus a run for their money. Three prototypes have been built and Rostec said on Monday the plane had been set to enter serial production at the end of this year.
But Sergei Chemezov, Rostec’s chief executive, said production would not now start until the end of 2020 due to U.S. sanctions.
The sanctions have cut off imports of components from the United States and Japan needed to make the plane’s wings and part of its tail fin, Russian officials have said previously.
Chemezov said Russia would now have to make the necessary components itself and that would take time.
“Due to the Americans stopping deliveries of composite materials (for the wings) we are moving to make our own composites,” the Interfax news agency cited Chemezov as telling reporters at the IDEX military exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
“The timeline of when we can start serial production is shifting a bit. We were meant to start producing several planes as part of serial production towards the end of this year, but now it will be towards the end of 2020.”
Russia’s Aeroflot has agreed to lease 50 of the new planes and Moscow has said Syria is in talks about buying the new aircraft.
Sanctions actually work? Who would have thought?
Edited by megaeliz on Feb 18th 2019 at 12:20:02 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Of course. The question is do they work for what?
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
What?
Oh really when?
Have you paid ANY attention? The sanctions, especially the ones from the EU, have hit Russia hard. Putin is currently under pressure because of the bad economic situation in the country.
Yeah, I think the sanctions have been working for a while. They’ve done pretty massive damage to their economy, especially the industrial and aerospace sectors.
They should have sent a poet.
Meanwhile in Russia, all news talking about how sanctions hurt US more than them. And plus all the usual "rotting West" stuff they like to talk about.
Naturally it does, but it is nonsense. And it is largely not even the US which is the problem. It's mostly that they have lost access to the European markets.
Almighty Janitor
It does not help the fact that When All You Have Is a Hammer… as the mentality for foreign policy ended up achieving the pinnacle of human stupidity in the form of an alleged nuclear torpedo, if the thing actually exists.
I will emphasize. Not only do you take out your enemy in one fell swoop, you end up creating the side effect of collateral damage by affecting those aligned to your cause as well, as all the contaminated water is now in the atmosphere, and it will end up hitting more than your target. Just making a point, as it seems that Skewed Priorities are in full swing. Purely asinine since it is potentally a class 2 to 4 on the apocalypse how scale.
It’s probably non-existent due to the capabilities truly required, but if it does, it means the lunatic who designed it has dug their own planet’s grave.
Edit: it seems this is nigh impossible due to practicality reasons. But then again, building a salted nuke is a concept that was older than I thought. It is still incredibly stupid though due to the self-destructive nature of such weapons.
Edited by Mr_Madman on Feb 24th 2019 at 11:41:33 AM
Wait a second: How on earth did I even get here?
Beware the Crazy Man.
You guys are overstating the effect of the sanctions. That it's having an effect is not the same as "it's destroying the Russian economy". It will hurt Russia short and medium term, but long term all it will do is force the Russian economy to diversify to make up for the sanctions-related shortfalls.
Doing happy dances that the sanctions are doing something only risks underestimating Russia later.
Final Fantasy, Foreign Policy, and Bollywood. Helluva combo, that...
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
Sanctions are a great start but we need to follow it up
Oh really when?
The nuclear torpedo isn’t going to do any of that stuff. In fact, it really doesn’t change the strategic equation at all.
That’s if their economy can diversify, which it may not be able to. The sanctions have been fairly crippling in sectors critical to future diversification like electronics.
Kremlin doubts figures showing Russians too poor to buy shoes
Dmitry Peskov was commenting on a report by state statistics agency Rosstat.
It found that a third of households polled could not afford two pairs of shoes per person, per year.
The data also revealed that 80% of Russian families found it difficult to make ends meet.
The survey actually indicates a slight improvement in some areas of family finances. But its stark headline figures - and Mr Peskov's annoyance - have captured attention, suggesting that officials are out of touch with everyday reality.
Asked to comment on the findings, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman sighed deeply before saying that the Kremlin "struggled" to understand the data.
"Why shoes? Why one third? Where are these figures from?" Mr Peskov asked, adding that he would be "grateful" for an explanation from Rosstat.
The details are clearly available online, alongside the agency's "monitoring of living standards" survey, conducted every two years. The latest figures are from a poll conducted in September 2018 which covers some 60,000 homes across the Russian Federation.
Amongst its findings, the survey reveals that close to half of all households cannot run to a week's annual holiday, even staying with friends or family. About 10% of those questioned could not afford to eat meat or fish three times a week, and 12.6% of homes either shared a communal toilet or had an outside loo.
In rural Russia, where many village homes still have an outhouse, that figure is above 38%.
The Kremlin's irritation with the statistics partly stems from an awareness that economic difficulties now present a significant challenge to President Putin. After overseeing a period of economic growth during his first terms in office, fuelled by high oil prices, Mr Putin's approval rating has fallen as Russian families live through a fifth straight year of shrinking incomes.
That daily reality lies behind the latest polling data, including the fact that 52.9% households can't cope with unexpected expenses - including house repairs or medical costs. In 2016, when the last survey was conducted, that figure was 44.2%.
Other statistics have improved slightly. Two years ago, 15% of families had no indoor toilet and 54% were unable to afford a holiday.
But the harsh facts still jar with the positive spin pumped into Russian kitchens by state television channels, and with the president's own pledge to slash poverty in half by 2024.
Talk of difficulty buying shoes is also a long way from the designer boots that Mr Putin's spokesman himself has been photographed in; their cost online is close to double the monthly minimum wage.
Blowout soon fellow Stalker
There's a very weird disparity that's caused by Russia's state owned arms and oil companies bringing in tons of money for the government while their internal GDP and economy is very stunted.
Oh really when?
Well, the problem with economy is mostly due to Oligarchs and people in high places care more about "shoving cash in their pockets" than actually improving economy of the country. Everyone focused on short term gain, than long term plan.
Hey, ~Knit Tie and ~Beholderess, are you still around?
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Servant of the Omnissiah
Thing is, Putin is more than capable of staying in power right until he buys it from Old Age or Sickness. Because he's figured out a way to deflect all the rage towards economic woes outward quite successfully in most cases.
And in the few cases he hasn't, he's been exceptionally successful in stomping out any voice of opposition to his rule, to the point that everyone opposing him are too weak to be taken seriously, or stool-pigeons there to muddy the waters.
Right now, short of a famine or some major natural disaster that wipes out huge swathes of the Russian landscape and population, he's effectively untouchable.
Le Garcon is pretty much spot on - sanctions are a good start, but the keyword is they're a start. Not the only thing that needs to be done to bring the recalcitrant Russian Government back to the table and behave responsibly.
I hold the secrets of the machine.
It is only a matter of time until some version of a famine will happen. There is a breaking point to how much you can keep your population in poverty, and Putin is reaching that point fast.
The Grumpy Ghost
Famine? Seriously? Our agricultural sector has been booming ever since the countersanctions. A potential shortage of food is probably the least of fears over here right now.
People got poorer, many products got more expensive, that much is true; i hear a lot of talk about having to actually measure the amount of money one spends on food now, but if you're expecting mass starvations anytime soon i'm afraid you'll be disappointed.
That's why I said "one version of famine". There is little use to having the food when the people can't afford it.
Oh, bother.
With capitalism, producing the food is rarely the issue. There is incentive to produce more. That food actually getting to poorer peoples’ tables is another matter. So it would not be a famine but rather “only” food insecurity.
Edited by M84 on Apr 5th 2019 at 7:57:46 PM
Disgusted, but not surprised
Remember, the issue during the potato famine was less that there wasn't enough food to get around, it was that the food which was there was exported during a famine instead of ensuring that the starving population got their share first.
Not to mention that people in charge deliberately prevented other countries from shipping aid to Ireland.
Edited by akanesarumara on Apr 5th 2019 at 3:59:19 PM
Belarusians are pretty prideful about their national identity, so this feels more like a move mostly just supported by the government (which Putin has been bribing for a while).
"If you spend all your heart / On something that has died / You are not alive and that can't be a life"